Oldham holds slight lead in DA race

Elizabeth Oldham, the Republican candidate for 14th Judicial District Attorney, held a narrow lead against Democratic challenger Tammy Stewart as of press time late Tuesday night.

"It's kind of a roller coaster," said Oldham, the assistant district attorney, from her watch party in Granby. "I'm still kind of holding my breath."

The last numbers available to the Daily Press before press time indicated Oldham held a 10,892 to 9,982 vote lead against Stewart, the assistant Moffat County attorney.

Moffat County vote totals went final about 10:40 p.m. Tuesday. A winter storm slowed travel from Maybell and Dinosaur, the last two voting areas that needed to be counted, to the Moffat County Courthouse.

When the final results for the county were in, they revealed a large victory for Oldham.

She received 3,640 votes, or 67 percent, in Moffat County against 1,771, or 32 percent, for Stewart.

Stewart, however, had a more lopsided victory going in Routt County, according to the latest numbers available. She had 6,240 votes against Oldham's 4,201 votes.

Oldham responded in Grand County, again based on the latest numbers available to the newspaper, with 3,171 votes to Stewart's 2,030.

"It's really exciting," Oldham said of the vote totals she received in Moffat and Grand counties. "I felt really honored to have the support of those counties."

In other election news:

• Moffat County voters followed the lead Tuesday of the 14th Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance by approving the retention of a district court judge.

Judge Shelley Hill, who took the bench in July 2006, received 3,453 votes in favor of retention to 1,327 votes against in Moffat County.

Final vote tallies from Routt and Grand counties were not available as of press time.

The judge said she would be happy to continue serving the judicial district.

"I'm very hopeful I'll be retained, and I look forward to serving the citizens of the district for the next six years," Hill said Tuesday.

The Commission on Judicial Performance, a 10-member panel, unanimously recommended Hill for retention when it released its evaluation in August. The panel consisted of residents and attorneys from Moffat, Routt and Grand counties, each section of the tri-county judicial district.

Hill received above-average marks from attorneys and non-attorneys polled on her performance, and the commission also reviewed various opinions Hill wrote in crafting its final evaluation findings.

"Her opinions appeared to be generally well-reasoned, clearly written and adhered closely to the law," according to the performance review. "Further, the commission was impressed with the overall survey results."

Hill, who has about 26 years of legal experience, was admitted to the Colorado Bar in 1999. She primarily handles district court cases in Moffat and Routt counties and periodically in Grand County.

Joshua Roberts can be reached at 875-1791, or jroberts@craigdailypress.com.